John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and one non-fiction book, ''Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas.'' Shirley has written novels, short stories, TV scripts and screenplays—including ''
The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
''—and has published over 84 books including 10 short-story collections. As a musician, Shirley has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
and others. His newest novels are ''Stormland'' and ''Axle Bust Creek.''
Biography
John Shirley was born in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas and grew up largely in the vicinity of
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
. His earliest novels were ''Transmaniacon'' and ''Dracula in Love'' for Zebra Books, and ''City Come A-Walkin'', a proto-cyberpunk novel, for Delacorte. He also wrote the ''A Song Called Youth'' cyberpunk trilogy for Warner Books, re-released as an omnibus in 2012 by Prime Books. 2012 saw his noir-flavored novel of apocalypse, ''Everything Is Broken'' released by Prime Books. In 2013 PM Press released Shirley's'' New Taboos''. In October 2013 HarperCollins/Witness released his novel about Conan Doyle in the afterlife, '' Doyle After Death''; Skyhorse Publications brought out his historical novel about
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', in August 2014. Shirley's collaboration with rock musician
Mark Tremonti
Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
, an adaptation of Tremonti's rock opera A DYING MACHINE, was completed in June 2018.
Besides having written numerous books Shirley was lead singer of the punk band
Sado-Nation, in 1978-79; he was lead singer of the post-punk funk-rock band Obsession, on Celluloid Records, while living in New York City and Paris, France, in the 1980s, and was later in the band the Panther Moderns. He is currently performing with The Screaming Geezers. Shirley has also written 23 song lyrics recorded by
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
.
Shirley's one nonfiction book is ''Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas'' (Penguin/Tarcher). He currently lives in the Vancouver Washington area with his wife, Micky Shirley. Shirley has three adult sons, twins Byron and Perry and their younger brother Julian, who also goes by "Juji". Byron is a yacht captain and yacht broker; Perry is a teacher and artist. Julian is a Bay Area-based underground rapper and producer of hip-hop, trap, chiptune and various other electronic music genres, as well as a computer security professional under the alias "DonJuji".
Career
Shirley is known for his
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
science fiction novels, such as the
''A Song Called Youth'' trilogy, ''City Come A-Walkin and ''Black Glass'', as well as his suspense (as in his novels ''Spider Moon'' and ''The Brigade''), horror novels and stories (e.g., ''Demons'' and ''Crawlers'' and the story collection ''Black Butterflies'') and
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
film work. The ''A Song Called Youth'' cyberpunk trilogy, ''Eclipse'', ''Eclipse Penumbra'', and ''Eclipse Corona'', has been slated for a new edition by Dover Books in 2017. His tie-in novels include the best-seller ''
BioShock: Rapture''. His best known script work is the film ''
The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'', for which he was the initial writer, before
David Schow
David J. Schow (born July 13, 1955) is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays.
His credits include films such as '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'', ''The Crow'' and '' The Hills Run Red''. Most of ...
reworked the script. He also wrote scripts for ''
Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication fr ...
'' and ''
Poltergeist: The Legacy''. He was nominated for an Emmy in the Prime Time Animation category for an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Authors David Agranoff and
Nancy Collins and editor/critic Paula Guran cite his intense, expressionistic early horror novels, such as ''Dracula in Love'' and ''
Cellars'' as an influence on the
splatterpunk
Splatterpunk is a movement within horror fiction originating in the 1980s, distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence, countercultural alignment and "hyperintensive horror with no limits.""Schow, David J." by
Gary Westfahl in D ...
movement in horror, and the subsequent "
bizarro
Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #68 (1958) ...
" movement. Appreciation of John Shirley as an author of dark fiction was amplified by a January 2008 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' review,
by critic
Terrence Rafferty
Terrence Rafferty is a film critic who wrote regularly for ''The New Yorker'' during the 1990s. His writing has also appeared in ''Slate'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ''The Village Voice'', ''The Nation'', and ''The New York Times''. For a number ...
, of Shirley's story-collection ''Living Shadows'' which said in part:
Shirley's
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
novels are ''City Come A-Walkin'', the ''A Song Called Youth'' trilogy and ''Stormland''. Avant-slipstream critic
Larry McCaffery
Lawrence F. McCaffery Jr. (born May 13, 1946) is an American literary critic, editor, and retired professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University. His work and teaching focuses on postmodern literature, contemporary ...
called him "a postmodern Edgar Allan Poe."
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.
Sterling's first ...
has cited Shirley's early story collection ''Heatseeker'' as being a seminal cyberpunk work in itself. Several stories in ''Heatseeker'' were particularly seminal, including ''Sleepwalkers'', which, in just one example, probably provided the inspiration for
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
's "meat puppets" in ''Neuromancer''. Gibson acknowledged Shirley's influence in an introduction to Shirley's ''City Come A-Walkin''. Shirley's story collection, made up of increasingly bizarre stories, the whimsically titled ''Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories'' has developed a cult status.
William Gibson, the author of ''
Neuromancer
''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...
'', collaborated with Shirley on short stories—as did fellow cyberpunks
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.
Sterling's first ...
and
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...
. Shirley's lyricism, wealth of ideas and imagination, crossover pioneering, and street-level honesty have been praised by other writers including
Clive Barker
Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...
,
Peter Straub
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
,
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...
,
Marc Laidlaw
Marc Laidlaw (born August 3, 1960) is an American writer of science fiction and horror, musician, and a former writer for the video game company Valve. He is most famous for working on Valve's ''Half-Life'' series.
Biography
Laidlaw was b ...
, and
A. A. Attanasio
Alfred Angelo Attanasio, born on September 20, 1951, in Newark, New Jersey, is an author of fantasy and science fiction. His science fiction novel ''Radix'', winner of the French literary award, the Prix Cosmos 2000, was also nominated for the ...
. His more surreal work, as in ''A Splendid Chaos'', showed how it was possible to describe the indescribable with a paradoxical believability and impeccable internal logic no matter how bizarre the subject matter. Shirley's personal experiences as a recovering drug addict and punk rocker brought verisimilitude to his darker, urban-tinctured writing.
In recent years Shirley has written a number of "tie-in novels" and novelizations, including ''Constantine'', based on the
Keanu Reaves movie, the best-seller ''BioShock: Rapture'' (Tor, 2011), a novel providing a prequel to the ''
BioShock
''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 pla ...
'' video game story, and ''Halo: Broken Circle''. He also wrote the apocalyptic, politically charged novel, ''The Other End'' which, according to the author's website, takes the apocalypse away from the Christian Right and gives Judgment Day to Liberals to do with as they please. This reflects Shirley's tendency to create fantasy entertainment which is also political satire, or spiritual allegory. E.g., ''Demons'', in which it is discovered that industry has deliberately caused deaths by cancer as part of a vast secret program of human sacrifice.
2007 saw the release of a new story collection, ''Living Shadows'', from Prime Books. His novel of dark urban fantasy set in a slightly futuristic New York, ''Bleak History'', was published by Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books in 2009. In August 2011
Underland Press
Underland Press is a publishing company founded by Victoria Blake, a writer and the former prose editor for Dark Horse Comics. Underland Press was sold to Resurrection House in September 2013.
Debut authors for ''Underland Press'' included: Bra ...
published ''In Extremis: The Most Extreme Stories of John Shirley'' and in January 2012 Prime Books published his near future apocalyptic political allegory, the novel ''Everything Is Broken''. His novel about
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
in the afterlife, ''Doyle After Death'', was released by HarperCollins/Witness in October 2013. Shirley's apocalyptic and surreal novel ''High'', based on his early novel ''Three-Ring Psychus'', has been re-released by Start Books as an
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
; His newest story collection is 'Feverish Stars'' (March 2020). In June 2020 his fantasy novel ''Sorcerer of Atlantis'' will be released by Hippocampus.
Shirley's work ranges in tone from the surreal to the grittily naturalistic to the nightmarish. He is also a songwriter and singer, having fronted numerous punk bands, including the New York City band Obsession, who were recorded by
Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos (sometimes shortened to Jean Karakos) operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the ...
. He has written lyrics for
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
, such as several songs on the album ''
Heaven Forbid
''Heaven Forbid'' is the thirteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on March 24, 1998. It was the band's first studio album with new material in a decade (not counting the 1992 soundtrack to ''Bad Channels''). ...
''.
In 2013 Black October Records released a two-CD compilation of John Shirley's own recordings, ''Broken Mirror Glass: The John Shirley Anthology – 1978–2012'' ...In 2020 Reprehensible Records released the rock album''The Screaming Geezers''; vocals and lyrics by John Shirley. Shirley performs regularly in the Portland, Oregon rock scene.
2014 saw the release of Shirley's first historical novel, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', a novel of the young Wyatt Earp.
Other recent novels are ''Halo: Broken Circle'', ''Doyle After Death'' and a novelization of
Mark Tremonti
Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
's science-fiction rock opera, ''A Dying Machine''.
Shirley is a member of the satirical "religion"
Church of the SubGenius
The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...
.
Awards
John Shirley received several nominations and won the following awards.
*
Bram Stoker Awards
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing.
History
The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
– for horror works, voted by
Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers.
Overview
HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...
professional membership (2 nominations; 1 win)
** 1999: "What Would You Do For Love?" (''Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side'') – long fiction – nomination
** 1999: ''Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side'' (Mark V. Ziesing) – collection – winner
*
Locus Awards
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...
– for science fiction, fantasy and horror works, polled by readers of ''Locus Magazine'' (5 nominations)
** 1990: ''Heatseeker'' (Scream/Press) – collection – 10th place
**2000: ''Really, Really, Really, Weird Stories'' (Night Shade Books) – collection – 17th place
*
International Horror Guild Award
The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of Horror fiction, horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008.
The IHG Awards wer ...
s – for horror works, juried (6 nominations; 2 wins)
* 1998: "Cram" (''Wetbones'' #2) – short story – winner
* 1999: ''Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side'' (Mark V. Ziesing) – collection —winner
** 1999: "What Would You Do For Love?" (''Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side'') – long fiction – nomination
[Horroraward.org](_blank)
**2001: ''Demons'' (Cemetery Dance) – long story – nomination
** 2002: "Her Hunger" (''Night Visions 10'') – long fiction – nomination
** 2004: ''Crawlers'' (Del Rey) – novel – nomination
*Interzone Readers Poll – for stories published in ''Interzone'' magazine, polled by readers (1 nomination)
**2014: "The Kindest Man in Stormland" (''Interzone'' #249) – story – 8th place
Selected works
Novels
* ''Transmaniacon'' (1979)
* ''Dracula in Love'' (1979)
* ''
City Come A-Walkin''' (1980)
* ''Three-Ring Psychus'' (1980)
* ''The Brigade'' (1981)
* ''
Cellars'' (1982)
* Several books in the
Traveler series of post-apocalyptic
men's adventure
Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...
novels (as
D. B. Drumm)
* Several books in the Specialist series of mercenary/adventure
men's adventure
Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...
novels (as John Cutter)
* ''A Song Called Youth'' Series (also known as ''
Eclipse Trilogy
''The Eclipse Trilogy'' (also referred to as ''A Song Called Youth'' trilogy) is a series of three English language cyberpunk science fiction novels by John Shirley consisting of ''Eclipse'' (1985), ''Eclipse Penumbra'' (1988), and ''Eclipse Coro ...
''):
** ''Eclipse'' (1985)
** ''Eclipse Penumbra'' (1988)
** ''Eclipse Corona'' (1990)
* ''In Darkness Waiting'' (1988)
* ''Kamus of Kadizar: The Black Hole of Carcosa'' (1988)
* ''A Splendid Chaos'' (1988)
* ''Wetbones'' (1991). A supernatural serial killer novel featuring creatures called the Akishra who take over human minds and bodies.
* ''
Silicon Embrace'' (1996)
* ''Demons'' (2000, novella)
* "...And the Angel with Television Eyes" (2001, novella)
* ''The View From Hell'' (2001, novella)
* ''Her Hunger'' (2001, novella)
* ''Spider Moon'' (2002)
* ''Demons'', a new version with sequel novel ''Undercurrents'' (2002)
* ''Crawlers'' (2003)
* ''Doom'' (2005, novelization of the
film version
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of the
Id Software
id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and ar ...
computer game)
* ''
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
'' (2005, novelisation of the film featuring the DC/Vertigo comicbook character)
* ''
John Constantine
John Constantine () is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John ...
, Hellblazer: War Lord'' (2006, based on the comic book character, not the movie version)
* ''
Predator: Forever Midnight'' (2006, Predator series tie-in)
* ''Batman: Dead White'' (2006)
* ''
John Constantine
John Constantine () is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John ...
, Hellblazer: Subterranean'' (2006)
* ''The Other End'' (2007)
* ''
Alien: Steel Egg'' (2007)
* ''
Black Glass
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Bleak History'' (2009)
* ''
BioShock: Rapture'' (2011)
* ''
Borderlands A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border.
Borderland or borderlands may refer to:
Places
* Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia
* Borderland (ele ...
: The Fallen'' (2011)
* ''Everything Is Broken'' (2011)
* ''Borderlands: Unconquered'' (2012)
* ''Resident Evil: Retribution'' (2012, novelisation of the
film version
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of the
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
video game)
* ''Doyle After Death'' (2013)
* ''Borderlands: Gunsight'' (2013)
* ''Wyatt in Wichita'' (2014)
* ''Grimm: The Icy Touch'' (2013)
* ''
Watch Dogs //n/Dark Clouds'' (2013)
* ''
Halo: Broken Circle''
Halo Waypoint – Halo: Broken Circle Coming in November
Retrieved 6/23/14 (2014)
* ''A Dying Machine'' (2018, a collaboration with Mark Tremonti of the Tremonti, incorporating ideas found in album of the same name. The novel is co-written by Mark Tremonti
Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
)
* ''Stormland'' (2021), a science fiction climate-change thriller.
* ''A Sorcerer of Atlantis'' (2021), a heroic fantasy novel.
Short story collections
*''Heatseeker'' (1989)
*''New Noir'' (1993)
*''The Exploded Heart'' (1996)
*''Black Butterflies'' (1998)
*''Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories'' (1999)
*''Darkness Divided'' (2001)
*''Living Shadows'' (2007)
*''In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley'' (2011)
* ''The Feverish Stars'' (2021)
Anthologies
*''Freezone'' (Rock On: The Greatest Hits of Science Fiction & Fantasy, Prime Books 2012)
*''Meerga'' (Altered States, Indie Authors Press, 2014)
Nonfiction
*''Gurdjieff – An Introduction to his Life and Ideas'' (2004)
Screenwriting credits
Television
*''Defenders of the Earth
''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assista ...
'' (1986)
*''The Real Ghostbusters
''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...
'' (1987)
*''BraveStarr
''BraveStarr'' is an American space Western animated series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' was the last a ...
'' (1987-1988)
*''RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...
'' (1988)
*''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'' (1995)
*''VR.5
''VR.5'' is an American science-fiction television series first broadcast on the Fox network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Ten of its thirteen episodes were aired during its original run. The title of the show refers to the degree of immersion ...
'' (1995)
*'' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (1996)
*''The Adventures of Sinbad
''The Adventures of Sinbad'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian Action genre, Action/Adventure Fantasy television series which aired from 1996 to 1998. It follows on the story from the pilot of the same name. It revolves around the series' prot ...
'' (1996)
*'' Todd McFarlane’s Spawn'' (1998)
*''The Night of the Headless Horseman'' (1999)
*''Batman Beyond
''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration ...
'' (2000)
*''Profit
Profit may refer to:
Business and law
* Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market
* Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit
* Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...
'' (2002)
*'' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'' (2012)
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...
'' (2014-2016)
Films
* ''The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'' (1994)
* ''Twists of Terror
''Twists of Terror'', originally titled ''Primal Scream'', is a 1997 Canadian made-for-television horror anthology film directed by Douglas Jackson and starring Jennifer Rubin, Françoise Robertson, Nick Mancuso and Joseph Ziegler.
Plot
A coll ...
'' (1997)
Music
John Shirley wrote most of the lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
albums ''Heaven Forbid
''Heaven Forbid'' is the thirteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on March 24, 1998. It was the band's first studio album with new material in a decade (not counting the 1992 soundtrack to ''Bad Channels''). ...
'' and ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror
''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' is the fourteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in June 5, 2001. The only single from the record was the poorly received "Pocket". Lackluster sales and poor relations led to th ...
'' as well as the songs "Demon's Kiss" and "The Horsemen Arrive" from their soundtrack ''Bad Channels
''Bad Channels'' is a 1992 American science fiction spoof direct-to-video film, produced by Full Moon Features and released by Paramount Home Video. It is about two aliens (Cosmo and Lump) who invade a radio station with the intention of capturin ...
'', and five songs from their 2020 album ''The Symbol Remains
''The Symbol Remains'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on October 9, 2020.
The title comes from a lyric in the song "Shadow of California" on Blue Öyster Cult's 1983 LP ''The Revölution by Night' ...
''. Their 1972 song "Transmaniacon MC" was the inspiration for Shirley's first novel, ''Transmaniacon''.
John Shirley's current band, which performs in and around Portland, Oregon, is called The Screaming Geezers.
See also
*List of horror fiction authors
This is a list of some (not all) notable writers in the horror fiction genre.
Note that some writers listed below have also written in other genres, especially fantasy and science fiction.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
...
*Splatterpunk
Splatterpunk is a movement within horror fiction originating in the 1980s, distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence, countercultural alignment and "hyperintensive horror with no limits.""Schow, David J." by
Gary Westfahl in D ...
References
Further reading
*''BioShock: Rapture, by John Shirley (2011)
* R.F. Paul. "The Head Underneath: An Interview with John Shirley". ''Esoterra: The Journal of Extreme Culture'' No 4 (Winter/Spring 1994), 3–6.
External links
*
"Piper at the Gates of Hell: An Interview with Cyberpunk Legend John Shirley"
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, John
1953 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
American male screenwriters
American science fiction writers
American horror writers
Splatterpunk
Cyberpunk writers
American lyricists
American rock singers
Songwriters from Texas
Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Screenwriters from California
American SubGenii